Living in Singapore for almost a year now, i have decided that i couldn’t possibly skip a blog on my little experience here and the little things i have noticed that can only be called Singaporean. When i started out here, cant say it wasn’t difficult especially coming from Bhutan to adjust to the lifestyle here, but day by day i find myself becoming more Singapore like. 😛 How?, you might ask.

The language off course. Now even though English is the national language here and is spoken by everyone, the Singapore English way (Singlish) is to convey as much as possible in as short a phrase as possible. These days i can even catch myself saying “can ah?” meaning “can you do it?” to which one would reply “can lah” meaning “yes off course”. Sometimes you can also hear a mix of lingo along with the English like “Alama” to indicate amazement at something. It is similar to the Bhutanese “Yalama” but with an “A”. And another thing i find here is that all old folks are referred to as “Aunties” and “Uncles”. 😛 Well I am yet to master Singlish but am on my way there.

The centre in everybody’s life here i believe is food. I was always amazed at first to see people eating everywhere i went and any time of the day. There is usually a hawker centre nearby any blocks of apartments to make it easy for people as cooking at home is rare. These places provide a wide variety of food ranging from noodles, roti prata, biryani, chicken rice, nasi lemak, western food, japanese and korean dishes etc. etc. all at very reasonable prices. Off course there are many restaurants and fine dining in singapore if you choose to go there also. I would say you name a food and you could find it in Singapore. These days i am not quite as amazed as i used to be as i have found out that i have become quite the foodie myself. There are days when i have actually decided on my next three meals or the place i want to go for a weekend treat. But there is one mystery though that i haven’t been able to figure out is how do people here remain so skinny. How? How? after all the food. 😛

After food, the next big thing that binds everyone would be the love for Shopping and for

Bugis Junction

Malls. Yes, it is like a sport. 😛 Kidding, but you can imagine when Malls aren’t just anywhere, they are everywhere. Especially during the weekends if you go to a mall, you will have to criss cross and do a bit of fancy footwork so as not to bump into anyone in the mall. Especially this season as the GSS (Great Singapore Sale) is on and most stores offer a lot of discounts going up to 50% to some even up to 70% , i find people going crazy shopping including yes me. Hey its on sale.. LOL

But the places i really enjoy are the little heritage places by little India, China Town, Arab street, Katong and maybe more which i haven’t explored. Each of these places are a little cultural alcove in the modern Singapore, where one can see the beautiful colourful architectures with intricate designs and each place in their own cultural setting. These two storied buildings now serve as shops and restaurants and for me it is always fun to take it in by walking along the streets and breaking for some delicious traditional food that these places will surely offer. Yumm.. 🙂